HBA-KDB S.B. 133 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 133 By: West, Royce Criminal Jurisprudence 3/25/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, evidence in a criminal case may be offered by the state and the defendant as to any matter the court deems relevant to sentencing. However, there is no explicit prohibition on evidence offered by the state that establishes that the race or ethnicity of the defendant makes it likely that the defendant will engage in future criminal conduct. Senate Bill 133 prohibits such evidence from being offered in a sentencing proceeding for a criminal case. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 133 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to prohibit evidence in a sentencing proceeding for a criminal case from being offered by the state to establish that the race or ethnicity of the defendant makes it likely that the defendant will engage in future criminal conduct. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.